I recently met with one of the female CEOs in whom I’ve invested to encourage her to apply for the MergeLane accelerator. I encouraged her to apply because she is an exceptional entrepreneur who has been making impressive progress with her business. She asked me a great question: “As an investor in our company – a company that has already raised angel capital – why do you think we should join an accelerator?” I wanted to share my thoughts.
Here’s why I, as an investor in her company, think she should apply. I hope my perspective will help other entrepreneurs and angel investors understand why MergeLane might make sense for post-angel raise, and other later entrepreneurs:
To sum up, I think top accelerators – including MergeLane – can materially advance the progress of any company that is wired for success and is facing a crucial milestone in their business. Whether it’s the first seed round, last venture round, expansion of sales or a company re-invention, I think a solid accelerator experience can deliver tremendous value.
I’ve spent most of my life learning how to turn off my passion for just long enough to eat and sleep. I’ve never had to learn how to turn it on. After a recent long stretch without that passion, here's my hypothesis as to why I think it is coming back.
Read more ➞I tried for many years to maintain a jam-packed schedule with zero margin for error, but life never seems to fit into perfectly scheduled boxes. After a straw-that-broke-the-camel’s-back moment, I’m learning to live off of the brink of disaster.
Read more ➞I've spent more time than necessary on our fund administration and reporting, in part because of some of the easily avoidable administrative mistakes I’ve made over my 10-year journey as a startup investor.
Read more ➞Over these past two months and throughout all of 2020, I've learned something that I want to record to make sure that I remember: My anxiety about the potential outcomes is almost always worse than the actual outcome.
Read more ➞